Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-07-07
FEARFUL EXPLOSION.

The Danger of Intrusting the Care OF an
Engine to Incompetent Hands Terribly
Fxemplifed-A Sad List of Casualties and
Heavy Loss of Valuable Property.
BELLEvILLE, ILL.,, July "A terrible &C
cident occurred yesterday morning on the
farm of John Barth, about three miles
southeast of Mascoutah, III. An engine
Of a threshing machine exploded Whlte a
number of men were around it, with
awful effect. The following is list OF
The victims:
John Plab, killed.
Will Plab, both legs broken.
Herman Lenkemeyer, arm blown of
Peter Dumond, slightly injured.
Edward Schutler, leg broken.
The water was allowed to get too low
in the boiler and more was let N While
the boiler was hot. The explosion fol-
lowed. 1t was shortly after six O'Clock
when Peter Dumond and John Plab ar
rived at the Barth farm with the thresh-
ing-machine. Dumond owned the ma
chine and has been doing nearly all the
threshing for farmers in the vicinity OF
Mascoutah.
Yesterday was the time set for his visit
to the Barth farm, and when he arrived
with the machine all the farm hands
were at the gate to meet him. Diamond
had engaged John Plab, young man
twenty years of age, as engineer, and the
latter raised steam. When the machine
had been placed in position on the farm,
Dumond climbed up on the machine, and
remarked to Plab:
Johnnie, you have got more steam on
than you ought to have"
"All right" said Plab, 81 will remedy
that
Plab attempted to put in some more
water. The terrible explosion followed.
The machine was blown up in the air
and lodged on the thresher about ten
feet distant. Plab was carried seventy.
FIVE feet in the air and instantly killed
Both his legs were blown off. and one OF
them was found nearly block from the
scece of the accident
A younger brother, who was standing
near the machine, had both his legs
broken. Peter Dumond, Herman Lenke-
meyer and Edward Schutler were arrang.
ing the thresher at the instant of the ex
plosion, and when the engine struck the
thresher Dumond and Schuetler were
knocked to the ground and Lenkemeyer
was knocked down and imprisoned De-
tween the engine and the separator One OF
Schuetler's legs was broken, but Dumond
was only slightly injured. Lenkemeyer's
osition was perilous and he would
probably have been burned to death had
not other farm hands, who were in a safe
position when the explosion occurred.
came quickly to his rescue. When taken
out of the burning thresher one of his
arms was found to have been torn off, and
was afterward amputated.
Two fine horses which had been left
standing near the engine were instantly
| killed. When the engine lodged on the
thresher the latter Immediately took fire,
| and in about ten minutes after the explo-
| sion was reduced to ashes, together with
| two farm wagons which were in close
| proximity
The no Use of the explosion was heard q
| mile or more distant, and in less than
| fifteen minutes after it had occurred
! there were hundreds of people at the
scene. Physicians were brought from
Mascoutah and every thing possible was
| done to alleviate the sufferings of the in
| iured The condition of the youngest
| Plab is very serious and he may die.
John Plab, the young man killed, was
| twenty years of age, and was an intelli.
| gent young farmer, but had very little ex-
| perience with machinery. He probably
had no idea how low the water in the
boiler of the engine was or he would not
have attempted to put more in while the
boiler was so hot. When picked up his
| body was unrecogniz lble. Both legs had
been blown off close to the body and his
face was awfully blackened and SCARED.
Dumond, the owner of the machine, who
escaped without any serious injury, is
well-known oil over the country, he hav-
| ing for years done all the threshing for
| farmers around Mascoutah. He was
| fairly well-to-do.
A sad feature in connection with the
accident was that the father Of the Plab
boy, who is confined in the county Jail on
peace warrant, had the news broken to
| him in his cell. He was nearly heart
broken with grief, and the fact that he
could not go to them made his anguish all
| the more keen.